Apple iPhone 5s going super cheap

This afternoon I was having a chat with a colleague. He, like many people, is looking for a good-quality smartphone without paying big bucks.

It’s a big trend in my eyes. I’m hearing less and less people that are taking traditional two-year deals and instead they’re going for SIM-only deals for a cheaper (but still very decent) smartphone. Some people are also choosing to get “bridging” devices between contracts.

So. How do you pay for a smartphone up-front? Well, the good news is that you don’t need to. Plenty of places do finance, with giffgaff doing their Peer-to-peer thing and Google doing Project Fi. You can also pop along to one of those exchange shops, and they’re great because you can actually get your hands on the phones. Sure, I know I’m talking to you through a website and we’re all very used to buying everything online, but if you want to get your hands on some low-cost smartphones, head to places like CEX or GAME where you can get your hands on phones and actually see if it’s the right one for you.

I like those trade-in places. Sure, the online recyclers will sell you phones and you can try places like Cash Generators if you want to get one that way, but actually going into a shop and asking for a phone from out of a glass cabinet – it’s a good way to see how the thing feel in the hand. Phones are usually graded, with “Grade A” being pretty much perfect. If you’re lucky, and you’re actually in the shop where you can see the thing, you can perhaps get a Grade C phone with a dirty great scratch up the back which you can cover with a case or something like that. That’s a bargain.